ELVO vs Plugchoice: Comparing EV Charging Software

Use this article if you:

• are looking for a Plugchoice alternative and want the differences as checkable facts
• need drivers to pay for charging now, not only to see and restart your stations
• install chargers and have to decide which software you put in front of your clients
• answer tenders that ask for a certified charging platform

ELVO and Plugchoice both connect stations that speak OCPP, the open protocol between a station and its management software. Both open accounts by self-service. They differ in what the price covers. The Plugchoice management platform is free, but it has no billing module yet. Its own billing page says the features “are still a concept” and that the company “cannot give an exact date yet”. Smart charging costs extra, as a paid module. ELVO charges one public price per station, and billing, payments and the driver app work today.

We wrote this comparison in September 2026. The facts about Plugchoice come from its own website as it was at that date.

If you are shortlisting platforms right now, a 30-day free trial of ELVO opens a real account today, with no setup fee.

Why operators look for Plugchoice alternatives

Four facts decide whether the free platform is enough for you. You can check each one yourself, on Plugchoice’s own site or in the public certificate registry.

1. Plugchoice has no billing module. The Plugchoice pricing page marks Billing & Invoicing as “Coming Q4 2026”. The module’s own page says the features described “are still a concept” and that the company “cannot give an exact date yet”. For billing today, Plugchoice sends you to a second platform. Its OCPP Proxy page tells you to “route OCPP traffic to your current billing platform”. That second platform has its own price and its own contract.
2. The features that earn or save you money cost extra, per charge point. Smart Charging is a paid module today, and billing is planned as another one. The charger’s owner pays for each. If you quote software to a client, you work out the total per charge point yourself, module by module.
3. Plugchoice has no OCPP certificate in the public registry. A tender that asks for a certified platform asks for a certificate number, and the registry shows none for Plugchoice or for its parent company.
4. Plugchoice belongs to a company that builds EV chargers. It started as that company’s internal software and became its own brand only in January 2026. That matters if your client wants software that is not tied to a hardware maker.

ELVO vs Plugchoice comparison

Axis	ELVO	Plugchoice
Technical capabilities
OCPP certification, verifiable in the Open Charge Alliance registry	Certificate OCA.0016.1071.CSMS, Full and Security, registered June 2025, downloadable from the registry	No certificate in the registry as of September 2026, checked across all 1,449 entries under the brand name and the parent company’s name. Ask the vendor for a certificate number
Station-to-platform security	Encrypted connection between station and platform available (WebSocket Secure, which runs over TLS). The security functions were tested for the Full and Security certificate	Encrypted connection available; the terms recommend it and leave the choice to the customer. No Security certificate in the registry
Hardware coverage	Any station that speaks OCPP connects; compatible with 700+ charger models (vendor-stated)	Any charger that speaks OCPP connects (vendor-stated). The chargers page on the Plugchoice website lists 934 chargers from 115 brands. It is a catalogue of specifications, not a compatibility list: the page says only that “many of the chargers in this table already speak OCPP”
Who owns the vendor	Software company; sells no charging hardware	Plugchoice B.V. is part of Volt Time B.V., a privately held company that builds EV chargers; its own brand only since January 2026
Billing drivers and collecting payment	Included. Drivers pay in the ELVO driver app; you receive the session revenue minus the transaction fee	No billing module. It is announced as a paid module, marked “Coming Q4 2026”, and its own page says the features “are still a concept”. For billing today: a second platform, with its own price and contract, connected through the OCPP Proxy
Roaming with other charging networks	OCPI implemented in both directions: your locations and sessions go out to roaming partners, and theirs come in	Described as part of the Billing & Invoicing module, which is not available yet
Load management across stations	Dynamic load management included, cloud-based, with no extra hardware on site	Dynamic load management included in the free platform. Solar charging, power sharing, charging on hourly energy prices and peak shaving (a cap on charging power in expensive hours) are not included. They cost extra, in the paid Smart Charging module
Driver app	ELVO driver app for iOS and Android, included	Plugchoice calls it a mobile app for drivers and installers. Drivers control their own chargers, and installers set chargers up on site. As of September 2026, the app page lists no way to pay for a charging session
Offer and commercial terms
Published price	One public price per station per month that covers the whole platform, on the ELVO pricing section	Platform EUR 0 with unlimited chargers, without billing. Smart Charging costs extra: EUR 25 per year, EUR 74 per five years or EUR 165 one-off, per charge point. Billing & Invoicing is listed at EUR 5.95 per charge point per month, but you cannot buy it yet. DC counts double; prices exclude VAT
Transaction fee on paid sessions	One fee, published next to the price	Not published. The billing terms mention roaming and transaction fees, with no amounts, as of September 2026
Setup fee and commitment	No setup fee; monthly, cancel at any time	Free platform, no card required, no hidden fees (vendor-stated)
Self-service signup	Yes, with a 30-day free trial	Yes, free with no trial period
Installer and partner routes	Three, kept separate: self-service with resale at your own price, a partner program that pays you a share of every client invoice, and white-label under your own brand, which runs as a dedicated deployment on its own contract	The Partner Program costs EUR 29 per month per company. It gives a share of every paid module your customers activate (only Smart Charging is available today), a white-label web portal and a custom domain
Branded driver app	Included in the Enterprise (Managed) plan	Arranged with the sales team

Plugchoice lines come from Plugchoice’s own website in September 2026; ELVO lines come from elvo.io. Figures that are a company claim on either side are marked vendor-stated. Plugchoice prices its modules “per EVSE”, short for electric vehicle supply equipment; this article writes “charge point” for it. ELVO prices per station. If your stations have more than one charge point, count both ways. The ELVO lines describe the self-service plan unless the row says otherwise. Ask Plugchoice directly for its current terms.

What is free at Plugchoice, and what costs extra

What is free. The free platform lets you see and control stations. That means live status, remote start and stop, settings and firmware from a distance, and full OCPP logs. It also means charge card management, team roles, a REST API for personal use and dynamic load management. Plugchoice puts no limit on the number of chargers and asks for no credit card. The free platform does not include billing.

What costs extra. Today you can buy one module, Smart Charging. It adds charging on solar surplus, peak shaving, power sharing across chargers and charging on hourly energy prices. It costs EUR 25 per year per AC charge point, before VAT, and a DC charge point counts double. The charger’s owner pays. The one-off licence is tied to one charger and one account. The pricing page says: “If you sell the charger, the license does not move with it.” If Plugchoice discontinues the module, the one-off licence ends with it, after three months’ notice.

Billing & Invoicing is listed at EUR 5.95 per charge point per month, but you cannot buy it yet. The plan is for it to add invoices per session, employee reimbursement for home charging and accounting exports.

If you only need to see and restart private stations, management is all you need, and it costs nothing at Plugchoice. If drivers must pay, the free platform is not enough, and the billing module is not for sale yet. You are comparing a planned module, with no exact date, against a platform where billing already runs.

Where Plugchoice is the stronger choice

When you need management only and do not want to pay for software. A company car park or a row of home chargers where drivers do not pay per session needs status, restarts, cards and firmware. Plugchoice charges nothing for it, at any number of chargers.

Energy features for home charging. With the paid Smart Charging module, Plugchoice reads a wireless energy meter over the internet, with no control wiring between meter and charger. The module charges on solar surplus, or in the cheapest hours of the next day’s electricity prices. The module is paid per charge point, and the one-off licence does not move with the charger when the charger is sold.

Where ELVO is the stronger choice

You get a complete platform, ready from day one. ELVO is a complete EV charging management platform, built to run and grow your charging business. You get station management, the driver app, payments, billing and roaming with other charging networks. You need nothing else from another vendor. Drivers start, stop and pay in the ELVO driver app. You receive the session revenue minus one transaction fee. How to set prices per kWh and per minute is covered in our EV charging billing guide.

One price covers the whole platform. The price per station per month covers station management: remote control, firmware updates, RFID card management and load management. It also covers billing, the driver app, reporting, setup, updates and email support. You quote one software line to a client. The transaction fee on paid sessions comes on top and is published next to the price. The figures sit on the ELVO pricing section.

A platform and an app made to fit your business. On the Enterprise plan you get your own branded driver app. ELVO customises the platform and the app for you, with custom integrations, new features and whole new modules. You say what your business needs, and ELVO builds it. The plan comes with a dedicated account manager and priority support.

The certification is a document. ELVO holds an Open Charge Alliance certificate, Full and Security, which you can download as a document. A tender that asks for a certified platform gets a certificate number, not a statement.

The vendor sells software and nothing else. ELVO builds no chargers, so which hardware you install stays your decision on every project.

Which one fits your operation

Plugchoice fits if your stations are private, drivers do not pay per session, and you do not want to pay for software. It also fits if your work is mostly home installs where the paid Smart Charging module decides the sale.

ELVO is the choice when drivers have to pay and you want the complete platform from one vendor, from day one. It gives you one price you can put in a quote and a certificate number for tenders. On the Enterprise plan, the platform and the app are made to fit your business. That weighs most for installers who resell software and for operators opening paid sites now.

If you lean towards Plugchoice and need billing, ask for two things in writing: the launch date of the billing module and the transaction fees it will carry.

Try ELVO free for 30 days. No sales call, no contract commitment. Connect one station, run a paid session, and compare the two on your own hardware.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Plugchoice alternative if I need to bill drivers today?

ELVO, a complete platform from one vendor: station management, the driver app, payments, billing and roaming, at one public price per station per month. Drivers pay in the app and you receive the revenue minus one transaction fee. Plugchoice has no billing module yet; as of September 2026 its page calls it still a concept.

Is Plugchoice really free?

The management platform is free as of September 2026. It covers charger management, firmware, logs and charge cards, with no limit on chargers. It does not include billing. Smart Charging is a paid module, per charge point, paid by the charger’s owner. Billing is planned as a second paid module and cannot be bought yet.

How much does Plugchoice cost once you add the paid module?

As of September 2026, Smart Charging costs EUR 25 per charge point per year, or EUR 165 one-off, tied to one charger and one account. Billing & Invoicing is listed at EUR 5.95 per charge point per month, but you cannot buy it yet. DC chargers count double and prices exclude VAT.

How does Plugchoice pricing compare with ELVO?

To work out what you pay at Plugchoice, you go through six steps. First, the management platform, at EUR 0. Second, Smart Charging, if you want it: EUR 25 per year, EUR 74 per five years or EUR 165 one-off, per charge point. You choose the term per charger, and the one-off licence is tied to that charger and that account. Third, Billing & Invoicing, listed at EUR 5.95 per charge point per month, once it exists. Fourth, count your charge points, not your chargers, and count every DC charge point twice. Fifth, if you install for others, add the Partner Program at EUR 29 per month per company. Sixth, on paid sessions, subtract roaming and transaction fees, whose amounts are not published and which Plugchoice may change with thirty days notice. All prices exclude VAT.

At ELVO you look up two numbers on the pricing section: one price per station per month for the whole platform, and one transaction fee on paid sessions.

Is Plugchoice OCPP certified?

As of September 2026, the Open Charge Alliance certified products registry lists no certificate under the Plugchoice name or under its parent company’s name. We checked all 1,449 entries. Ask the vendor for a certificate number and check it in the registry yourself.

Who owns Plugchoice?

Plugchoice B.V. is part of Volt Time B.V., a privately held company founded in 2020 that builds EV chargers. Plugchoice began as the internal software for those chargers and became its own brand only in January 2026. The company states that it earns its money from charging hardware and platform services.

Does Plugchoice have a driver app?

Plugchoice describes its mobile app as an app for drivers and installers. Drivers control their own chargers, and installers set chargers up on site. As of September 2026, the app page lists no way to pay for a charging session. ELVO has a driver app for iOS and Android where drivers start, stop and pay.

Read next

• EV charging software cost: the pricing models explained
• White-label charging software for installers
• What is OCPP? A practical guide for charging operators

Sources

• Plugchoice pricing, platform price, module prices, Partner Program and module launch date
• Plugchoice Billing & Invoicing, availability notice for the billing module
• Plugchoice OCPP Proxy, where billing runs today
• Plugchoice power management and tariff management, meters, solar and hourly prices
• Plugchoice ownership and funding, parent company and launch date of the brand
• Plugchoice general terms and billing terms, connection security and fees
• Plugchoice mobile app, who the app is for and what it does
• Open Charge Alliance certified products registry
• Open Charge Alliance, ELVO certificate OCA.0016.1071.CSMS

ELVO Team. We operate CPMS for manufacturers, distributors, installers, and operators across Europe and beyond.

Published 23 September 2026.